A tragedy of epic proportions

On this past Monday night we lost two of the most quite and caring people I have had the pleasure to know. My Brother-in-law John Keeler and his 20 year old daughter Tiffany Keeler.

They were on their way home from St. Lawerence College where Tiffany was studying to be an RN when their pickup truck was crushed by a semi on the 401. Tiffany was a new mom with a four month old baby and this all happened on the eve of my sister’s birthday.

The investigation is on going but the driver of the semi has been charged.

I was just listening to a show on CBC radio last week about the safety of Ontario’s roads given the increase in Semi traffic and now I face the reality of exactly that. My Aunt Brenda was killed by a Semi and now my brother-in-law and niece.

It’s all still a bit raw, but the frequency seems to indicate that we have a serious problem. These vehicles are huge and unable to stop in the same way a passenger vehicle can.

There are too many trucks on Ontario roads with passenger vehicles. I googled accidents on the 401 in 2017 and I was shocked at the number of fatalities.

It’s time to regulate the industry to the point where only the best operators remain in business. Governments need to do their part to separate semi and passenger vehicle traffic and driver’s of passenger vehicles need to learn exactly how dangerous our highways really are.

Stay away from Semi’s when you are driving on mixed traffic roads and be very aware of what’s behind you as well as what’s in front. Never be boxed in and always have an escape route.

4 Responses to A tragedy of epic proportions

It is so hard to express the terror our family is going through once again. Thanks Fred for putting it into words. Something must be done about the semi drivers on the roads today. We have been cut off so many times. We have started driving the backrooads when we can for this reason.